


Black Gold

by babieken



Series: Every Vixx Ship x Disney [5]
Category: VIXX
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - The Road to El Dorado Fusion, And a love interest, Crack, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, I wont tag it as disney bc it technically isnt, M/M, Multi, Oh also, Vixx!Disney Crossover Series, as a main character, but its Featuring Hakyeon too, but no smut, das it ig idk skdds, dramatic but loical bin, himbo loud hyog, its family friendly yall, talented amazing beautiful hakyeon, the main ship of this part is Hyukbin, what else..., wonshik and taek are barely mentioned and Jaehwan has a small part
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:07:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26844889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babieken/pseuds/babieken
Summary: “Are you sure your calculations are accurate? If we run out of fuel in the air above the ocean I’ll kill you before we drown,” Hongbin threatened. It felt like it was all he had been doing since they took off the ground.“Don’t worry! Jaehwan triple checked my calculations which I had double-checked myself already.”“Is that supposed to make me feel better? Because it doesn’t.”“Well if you had helped me prepare for this instead of brooding you would probably feel more reassured right now. Trust me, according to the map the island is fairly close, we might not even need to use the extra fuel.”“Are you guys always like this or…?”...Or the one where Hyukbin are Youtubers who go out trying to find the City of gold.
Relationships: Han Sanghyuk | Hyuk/Lee Hongbin
Series: Every Vixx Ship x Disney [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1698703
Kudos: 15





	Black Gold

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize in advance for anything that doesn't make sense. I tried my best.

“Hi everyone!” Sanghyuk greeted enthusiastically like usual, “I’m Hyuk, Gay Scrapper 420, I’m here with this asshole-”

“Hello everybody, it’s Gay Scrapper 69, Hongbin here,” Hongbin said with a wide grin as he jabbed his elbow into Sanghyuk’s belly. “In today’s episode, we’re going to a haunted house.”

“That’s right, guys! This episode is a collaboration with Taekwoon from ‘Taek A Boo’-”

“If you call me Gay Scrapper 666 I’ll crush your balls,” Taekwoon threatened with no hint of joking in either his face or tone. His face wouldn’t ever change; that was how he looked like all the time. His channel was popular for him not jumping, or even flinching, wherever he goes and whatever happens, even when the other people are screaming and running.

“I was gonna say honorary gay scrapper 666 but anyway, welcome to another episode of ‘The Gay Scrappers’.”

“I already regret this,” Taekwoon grunted as he walked out of Hongbin’s camera frame. They were outside an old abandoned house in the countryside. The village was almost a ghost town itself.

“You might be wondering what business the Gay Scrappers could possibly have in a haunted house,” Sanghyuk began explaining, walking by Taekwoon. “Would you like to tell them, Taekwoonie?”

“No.”

“Well, the legend said that Mr. Chae, the late owner of the house, was a gold hoarder. No, not like a skeleton lord! Like, he actually collected gold in his basement! And all his life he never spent a dime of it and wouldn’t let his wife or even children touch the money and on his deathbed he told them that he would haunt the house and would make sure they could never take his precious gold.” Sanghyuk told the story himself.

“What a dick.” Hongbin made a face as he walked past the other two and climbed the porch. “Let’s see what you got, gold hoarder!” Hongbin shouted at the door before kicking it open in the most dramatic way.

..

“Dude, I had never heard you scream like that since that time in elementary school when that gir-”

“Shutupshutupshutupshutup,” Hongbin chanted, his arms crossed over his chest and his back pressed firmly into the passenger seat of their car.

“Are you sure you didn’t pee yourself? I need to check.” Sanghyuk placed his hand high up on Hongbin’s thighs, very dangerously close to some sensitive parts. Hongbin slapped his hand away at light speed, his face heating up for multiple reasons.

“I hate you.”

“Love you too beans,” Sanghyuks sing-songed as he started the car after buckling his seatbelt. Hognbin then did the same.

“Are you gonna feed me or what?” Hongbin said between gritted teeth.

“Only if we’re playing married couple for the subway’s old lady employee.” 

Hongbin feigned defeat. “Fine… only because I’m starving after that traumatizing experience of scaring myself to death and that it’s mildly amusing.”

Because Hongbin “hated” pretending to be married to his best friend, holding hands and looking at each other with gooey eyes, and speaking in hushed voices and giggling at each other’s dumb jokes, as the old lady cooed at how cute they were and gave them freebies for being adorable.

Because Hongbin didn’t have a fat crush on his best friend for years. He really didn’t. It was a fairly recent… thing, actually. Hongbin just wanted to kiss his best friend sometimes, on his soft cheeks or on his forehead that anyone barely ever saw because Sanghyuk rarely styled his hair up due to being lazy, or his boopable nose, or sometimes on his cartoonish-looking lips.

It was just a thing… A thing that would probably go away once Hongbin got laid because god knew it had been too long and he was just projecting. Sanghyuk was tall, handsome, extremely funny and clumsy, really fucking sweet when he wanted to be and a real pain in the ass sometimes. Yup. Hongbin needed to get laid. Wanting to get dicked down by your best friend is one thing and wanting to hold hands and kiss under cherry blossom trees is another and Hongbin was going from the first to the latter real quick.

..

_ 2 months later _

“I can’t believe we’re actually doing this,” Hongbin sighed. It was probably the fifth time he has expressed his disbelief since they had taken off just short of 3 hours earlier. Sanghyuk giggled, honest to god  _ giggled, _ like the evil gremlin he was. “I can’t believe you _ talked _ me into doing this!”

“Relax! It’s not like there’s any kind of risk in it financially.” Sanghyuk shrugged calmly, laying back on his seat.. the pilot seat.

“Other than getting ourselves killed? Sure,” Hongbin growled, rolling his eyes and turning his face away from the younger.

“Oh come on! There has to be something here,” he said confidently, tilting his head to try and catch Hongbin’s eyes. “The map is real, remember? We checked!”

“And I am right here guys. Right here,” Hakyeon said from the seat behind them, with a smile that said ‘I am insulted.’

“Oh, so just because that piece of paper proved to be from a couple of centuries ago it proves that it’s legit?” Hongbin argued, his voice going higher with each word. “And no offense Hakyeon, but your grandparents could’ve made that story up. Or their grandparents. Or the one before them.”

And he was right! This was in fact beyond crazy. Sure, they had been in this business for years now, going on “adventures” and allegedly “finding treasures” but none of those were real. Those were mostly staged and scripted with Sanghyuk being mostly the brain behind the scripts and Hongbin doing most of the acting. It was all for entertainment.

It was sort of their dream ever since they were kids, neighbors and best friends, to become treasure hunters. It was their favorite game: one of them would hide something somewhere secret and draw maps and clues for the other to find.

Life didn’t go easy on them when Sanghyuk had to drop out of college because he had to choose between paying tuition and food and Hongbin had to find a real job after years of auditioning for roles he never got and only surviving on small roles here and there. So they did what anyone else does nowadays: they started a YouTube channel together. It wasn’t easy at first; they barely had any budget and had to rely on their phones for recordings and good editing software was too expensive, but they made it. Hongbin refuses to believe it was because of his pretty face and subpar acting. It was probably Sanghyuk’s charm and weird humor. Their channel grew steadily at first and then boomed, and with it, their pockets grew.

They got rich pretty much overnight but the quality of their content never dropped because they truly loved doing it. It was to the point where their second biggest purchase, the first being a really nice house, was a private jet. Sanghyuk had insisted, begged, that they needed it for their adventures and that it was a good investment. He even went and got his pilot license. 

Things were going well for them for the first time in their lives. They could provide for their families and have a sweet life themselves doing what they truly enjoyed. They never faked finding treasures; they weren’t scamming people like that, they were just not going into things as blindly and unplanned as they made it seem. Their motto was “It’s the journey, not the gold.”

They would find spots mostly themselves through lots and lots of research and sometimes choose spots from suggestions their subscribers sent them, after looking them up thoroughly of course. But one day, a couple of weeks back, they had received a strange package from an anonymous sender with a single note saying “I’ll be in touch” and an ancient-looking scroll that seemed to be a map. Hongbin was skeptical from the beginning but even he couldn’t deny that it wasn’t intriguing. The idea of an old treasure map, the possibilities…

Of course, they had to be sure, so they sent it to their friend Jaehwan, an archeologist and history nerd who works for the national museum. They had become friends through researching for some of their previous projects. Jaehwan had carbon-dated it and confirmed it to be dated to the 18th century. Their first thought was to check if anything was recently stolen from any museum in the country and then overseas’ museums. If it was stolen, no one had noticed it yet, but Sanghyuk and even Jaehwan were already convinced it wasn’t.

“Well, what else? Who would have an ancient treasure map in their closet?” 

“You know there are rich people who collect shit like that?” Sanghyuk had said, feeling proud of himself for coming up with a quick retort.

“Hey! Don’t call them shit! Do you know how valuable they are? Some of this stuff costs more than your- actually, you guys could probably afford a collection of your own but that’s not the point!” Jaehwan sputtered, face going red in anger and probably lack of oxygen from speaking so fast.

“Sure, some rich dude just sent us his treasure map from the goodness of his heart. I’m just saying this could cause us a significant amount of trouble,” Hongbin had argued but he was one against two and Sanghyuk was going to go find that goddamn treasure with or without Hongbin, leaving the older no choice but to follow because Sanghyuk couldn’t survive without him. Or so he told himself. Either way, he wasn’t going to let his stupid naive best friend go on this very potentially dangerous and exotic journey alone. Thank god Jaehwan couldn’t make it due to the museum having received a bunch of new artifacts for Jaehwan to check or Hongbin would have to put up with two very loud and energetic individuals instead of one.

Another anonymous letter had come a few days later. Things were starting to look more and more like a badly written horror or sci-fi movie.

“How are we supposed to trust them when they won’t even say who they are?!” Hongbin groaned, refusing to touch the envelope. He wasn’t being paranoid.

“We’re talking about a possible treasure here, who knows what sort of troubles would follow with it?” Sanghyuk argued, proving Hongbin’s point like the idiot he was without meaning too.

“ _ Exactly _ !” Hongbin shouted. “Troubles! Troubles that would bite our asses instead of theirs if we go through with it.”

“But that’s our job!”

“I am not getting paid enough for this…” Hongbin sank deeper into his chair like the drama queen he was.

“Yes, you are. And stop whining and let me open the damn envelope.”

“You’re an idiot for touching that without gloves and opening it without having a mask on,” Hongbin huffed out before hugging his legs to his chest. Sanghyuk just rolled his eyes and tore open the envelope. Nothing weird jumped out of it thankfully but Hongbin was not trusting it just yet.

There was a single paper inside. Sanghyuk started reading.

“Hello, I assume you’ve already confirmed the map’s authenticity. Meet me on Monday the 3rd at 6pm at the book cafe a block down the street from your house. There are things we need to discuss if you decide to find the treasure of the golden city.”

“We are not going. This is a trap,” Hognbin said before the last word was out of Sanghyuk’s mouth.

“I am. You can do whatever you want.”

And of course, Hongbin couldn’t let his stupid best friend go to some sketchy cafe meeting with a sketchier person alone. Sanghyuk had asked, begged, him not to go if he was just going to complain and be paranoid the whole time but Hongbin was not having it. Two was always better than one even if Sanghyuk weighed a ton and was taller and… well, he didn’t look more threatening than Hongbin if at all, but still.

Hongbin refused to let go of Sanghyuk’s arm as they walked along the sidewalk. Sanghyuk insisted they’d walk since it was just around the block and the weather was so lovely, giving up the protection of the car and having a get-away option other than running. Just perfect. They might as well present themselves on silver platters to the kidnappers or the mafia or whoever was behind all of this.

“If there is a handprint on my arm later I will leave a handprint on your ass,” Sanghyuk threatened and it sounded a little too serious for Hongbin’s liking.

“ _ Hey _ !” He slapped the younger's arm, above where he was gripping said arm like his life depended on it. Hongbin would never in a billion years admit it but his cheeks heated up and his stomach twisted at the younger’s empty threat. Of course, he wasn’t thinking of Sanghyuk’s big hands slapping his ass and leaving a mark! 

When they finally got to the place, Hongbin stopped, planting his feet firmly like a tree, forcing Sanghyuk to stop before entering the cafe and almost losing his balance.

“We should go from the back. See if there’s back exit in case of-”

“Do not finish that sentence, Lee Hongbin. For the millionth time, we are not in some western mafia. Move your ass or I will move it for you.”

Again Hognbin was left shell-shocked and speechless so when Sanghyuk pulled him inside with him he barely showed any resistance.

“I’m telling you, bet it’s some middle-aged guy in a trench coat with a cigarette and-”

They both stopped dead in their tracks when they saw a man standing up from his seat from somewhere in the corner. They couldn’t yet see any details of the man’s face due to the dim light of the cafe. Wasn’t this supposed to be a book cafe?

As far as Hongbin could see the man was… not short but not as tall as them and he looked kind of… dainty. 

“Hi, thanks for meeting me,” the man spoke, voice smooth and sweet… the face that came with that voice was even more striking.

Cat-like warm eyes were the first thing Hongbin noticed. Then his lips, perfectly symmetrical and proportionate, that looked soft and wet and almost bruised, like the owner of them had been biting them until a moment ago. His skin then caught Hongbin’s eyes; saying sun-kissed wouldn’t do it justice. Hongbin’s eyes went back to those lips; they were moving but Hongbin was having a hard time focusing on anything other than the way they moved. 

An embarrassing moan left his mouth when Sanghyuk elbowed him not too gently, bringing the older back on earth. That’s when he noticed he had let go of Sanghyuk’s arm and had taken half a step forward.

“Are you... Did you send the map?” Sanghyuk asked, almost in a whisper. The man nodded with a shy smile before pointing at the chairs across him for them to sit.

“Yes. I’d like to explain.”

“Yeah, please! Hongbin has been a constant pain in my ass ever since-” this time Hongbin jabbed his elbow into Sanghyuk’s side as they went to sit in front of the other man.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to cause you guys trouble…”

“No- no it’s alright,” Hongbin blurted without meaning to. What was wrong with him? 

The man looked down at his hands that were resting on the table. Was he blushing?

“My name is Cha Hakyeon and I am a descendant of the Geumsaeg tribe.”

..

“Are you sure your calculations are accurate? If we run out of fuel in the air above the ocean I’ll kill you before we drown,” Hongbin threatened. It felt like it was all he had been doing since they took off the ground.

“Don’t worry! Jaehwan triple checked my calculations which I had double-checked myself already.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better? Because it doesn’t.”

“Well if you had helped me prepare for this instead of brooding you would probably feel more reassured right now. Trust me, according to the map the island is fairly close, we might not even need to use the extra fuel.”

“Are you guys always like this or…?” Hakyeon, who was silent for most of the ride, asked, not meeting either of their eyes as they both turned around.

“Are you happy now? You upset Hakyeon.” Sanghyuk turned to Hongbin, with a frown that wouldn’t even scare a kid.

“Me? How am I-”

“ _ Guys! _ ” Hakyeon shouted louder than both of them. Enough was enough. “There is no point in arguing right now.” He sighed defeatedly, rubbing his temples with the tip of his fingers.

“Hongbin, please stop provoking Sanghyuk. He’s doing his best and I trust him and I’ve only known him for a couple of weeks and you’ve known him for years. A little faith in him would be nice,” he spoke towards Hongbin, his words having almost the same effect as when your mom is scolding you and you’re feeling deep shame.

“And Sanghyuk, it’s too late to throw around blames now, please just let’s finish the ride safely.” He turned towards Sanghyuk, eyes softening and a small smile threatening to break onto his face. 

Sanghyuk lowered his head. “I’m sorry.” Hakyeon ruffled his hair affectionately. Something twisted in the pit of Hongbin stomach, making his face heat up. Was it… Jealousy?

When Hongbin looked up he found Hakyeon looking at him expectantly, the soft smile still on his face and now directed at Hongbin. It made Hongbin’s cheeks heat up even more.

“I’m sorry too…” Hongbin murmured, too embarrassed to say it any louder but apparently that was enough for Hakyeon because he extended his arm and rested his palm on Hongbin’s hand on the armrest.

By some miracle, or Hakyeon’s magical ability to talk senses into people and maybe even his magical touch, the rest of the flight went quite uneventfully. Hakyeon would hum soft melodies under his breath from time to time that made Hongbin’s chest warm. Something about his voice and the tone he was humming was so soothing and warm that it felt like if Hongbin was sick in any way, Hakyeon's voice could heal him.

..

Hongbin likes to deny it but he liked Hakyeon quite a lot from the second he laid eyes on him, even if not that then it was the moment the man, who turned out to be older than the both of them, started telling them his story. It was insane and pretty unbelievable but Hongbin just couldn’t find it in himself not to believe him.

Hakyeon was looking at his own hands for most of the time he was telling them about his ancestors, as if he knew how far-fetched his story was and he was scared that they wouldn’t believe him, or would judge him.

“I know this sounds pretty unsubstantial but, I am the last of the Cha bloodline, the leaders of the Geumsaeg tribe, or more commonly known as the city of gold.

We lived a simple life as far as I can remember, my mom and dad working two jobs to pay for rent and food and my school so I was with my grandmother for the majority of my childhood. She used to tell me stories about the blessed land that our ancestors used to live in and how beautiful everything was there. She told me how everything was made out of gold and yet there was no such thing as money. Every person had a role and every bit of work, no matter how small, counted and everyone was in harmony with each other and it was our family who not ruled, but guided the people if it was needed. As a child, it was all fun and fascinating but as I grew up I started questioning, until one day my grandmother showed me this.” He paused, hands going behind his neck as he pulled a chain over his head. Hanging off the chain was a golden medallion; it wasn’t shaped like a perfect circle, it was bent in two places and there were dents and scratches all over the surface, but none of it was as prominent as the strange, labyrinth-like pattern that was carved on it. 

“This was the medal of the chiefs. Merely a symbol, given to the next chief when the current one retired. She told me that the stories she had been telling me were all true, told to her by her mother and she by her mother and so on.”

“Oh shit, that’s cool!” Sanghyuk beamed at the sight of the gold sparkly medallion like the 5-year-old he was. “So you guys must be secretly loaded right?”

Hongbin could tell that was not the case from the moment he saw the man and unlike Sanghyuk he was able to put two and two together. Hakyeon’s clothes were clean but pretty worn out and looked fairly cheap. It was obvious that the man had good taste and knew how to dress up even with affordable clothes from fast-fashion retailers.

“Not exactly,” Hakyeon chuckled, running his fingers through his hair. Hongbin only now realized how silky and beautiful his hair looked even in the dim light of the cafe.

“One day, sometime in the late 18th century, a sailor found his way to the island and somehow discovered the city even though it was hidden deep into the woods, or so they said. The people welcomed him into the city and he turned out to be a good man. He fell in love with one of the girls in the tribe and they decided to leave the island and go back to the city port where the sailor lived. The couple made the mistake of telling people about the golden city and word got out and the mayor of the city heard about it and decided to find the golden city and claim it as his own. The couple went back to warn the people. They only had a head start because they didn’t have to look for the place but there was still no time to waste. It was decided that they would leave the city but not before burying it.”

“What-  _ why _ ?” Sanghyuk asked, voice going high, almost like a shriek.

“Because…” the older sighed. “Because what was the most valuable metal for everyone else, the thing that could make you a king and was the reason for endless war and deaths. To the people of the tribe this was their homes, their furniture and dishes and the ground they walked on. It was their culture and their identity. They rathered it be buried than be torn apart by greedy men and become stained with blood.

This medallion was the only thing they brought. No one brought anything else. The only things they could’ve carried with them were small dishes and things like that but as the girl and her husband told them, only the kings had golden dishes, and having them would cause them more trouble.”

“That’s… awful. Imagine having to leave your home and your town and on top of that having to watch it turn into dust- wait, how did they hide the whole city?” Sanghyuk asked, the always curious one.

“Apparently they had tunnels underground, for safety and storage purposes, and they just happened to be on the 4 corners and the center of the town. So they blew them up and the whole city went under and the soil covered it up,” Hakyeon said, the last part almost bitterly while rolling his eyes.

“What?” Hongbin asked, arching a brow.

“It’s…” Hakyeon paused, closing his eyes for a second, taking a minute to gather his thoughts perhaps. “Well, it’s all stupid! Who am I kidding?”

Sanghyuk flinched back a little.

“I always hated this story. We were always just one paycheck away from being poor, I barely ever saw my parents, I grew up alone with my crazy grandmother who never stopped talking about this stupid golden city. Like, even if all of this is true, my ancestors were really fucking stupid. So you've been making shit from spoons to ceilings with gold but couldn’t figure out a way to melt some of that gold and sell it? And those tunnels just happened to be exactly where it’d be the best spot to blow up a city? Pretty convenient isn’t it?

“And when I asked my grandmother why was it that the people who were such hard workers and so in harmony and shit ended up like this, she never had anything to say.”

“I mean, culture shock is a thing-  _ Ouch _ !” Hongbin kicked Sanghyuk under the table before glaring at him.

“Yeah well, I guess they never got over the shock.” Hakyeon sighed, leaning back to his chair.

…

“Real question.” Hongbin turned towards his friend who was soon-to-be his archenemy if they survived this. “How are you planning on landing this thing?” he said with a furious smile that was his signature angry face, dimples showing prominently. “Or  _ where  _ do you plan on landing?”

He pointed to the island ahead of them, covered with long trees, not an inch free.

Sanghyuk turned and mirrored his expression, as well as he could at least. “Working on it.”

Hakyeon suddenly didn’t look so calm, but he didn’t say anything.

That was not comforting at all. At least they didn’t need to refuel anytime soon.

Sanghyuk was going around the island in hope of finding a clear spot to land.

“We should’ve rented a boat,” Hongbin growled, rubbing his temples between his thumb and forefinger.

“Well, we didn’t. Look, Bin, I know things aren’t going… as planned, but please stop whining. If you don’t want to help at least don’t distract me.”

“We should all calm down maybe,” Hakyeon tried, but his voice was shaking too much for him to sound convincing.

After another half an hour of going in circles around the island, in silence, Sanghyuk spoke. “We’re gonna have to land on water.” 

“What! We can’t do that! It’s-”

“Yes, we can. It’s a hybrid aircraft Hongbin. You would know if you had read the files I had sent you about our jet,” the younger said dryly.

“Wha- wait. So this whole time we had the option to land on water and you let me have a breakdown?!” Hakyeon was silently looking between the two of them.

“Maybe. But this is still not ideal. The floaters on this have never been used and quite frankly I haven’t landed on water since the training course. So, if we had any other option I would take it but we don’t so buckle up,” Sanghyuk said with knitted brows. He clearly wasn’t happy with the situation but they had to make it work.

The landing went a lot smoother than they hoped for. They didn’t die and the plane was in one piece.

All equipped for hiking, they began their journey on the island. The soil was damp and soft under their boots but not so wet that their feet sank into mud. There was not a single spot that wasn’t green as far as the boys’ eyes worked, moss covering everything that wasn’t naturally green, the ground and tree trunks and branches all covered in a thick, velvety green.

Sanghyuk looked a bit weird with the head strap and the camera on, but he was the tallest and the clips always looked better when he was wearing the camera on his head. Hongbin always teased him, calling it his third eye. Hongbin had the camera with the stick, mostly filming himself (and occasionally Sanghyuk) for obvious reasons. They asked if Hakyeon was up for carrying a camera but he politely refused. He was too afraid of breaking it even though they both assured him that the cameras were not so easily broken and Hakyeon didn’t exactly scream clumsy, even not considering that he was a dancer.

They figured the two cameras would suffice at least for the beginning of their journey. They would get the other one out if there was something important to film.

“Hello everyone, I’m Hongbin, this is Hakyeon.” He waved at the camera then angled it towards Hakyeon and he waved as well. 

“And I have never seen that guy in my life.” He held the camera higher, filming Sanghyuk behind them doing the Kulikitakati challenge to an owl.

They started walking towards the center of the island, which according to the map was where the city was located. The ground sloped up towards the north which was the direction they were headed. Hongbin already knew Sanghyuk was going to start complaining soon enough, even though he was probably more fit than Hongbin.

“So, Hakyeon, what are you gonna do when we find the golden city?” Sanghyuk asks, adjusting his head camera to capture Hakyeon as best as he can.

“Don’t you mean  _ if _ we find it?” Hakyeon asks with a soft chuckle. The viewers were gonna fall in love with him, Hongbin was sure. “To be honest… I don’t know. I just- if any of the ‘tales’ are true, I guess I want to see if it was worth it. Or not worth it. Since they didn’t fight and ran instead. I guess we won’t know until we get there.”

“But, when did you decide that you want to do this? Attempting to find the golden city I mean,” Hongbin asked, switching his camera to his other hand so it would capture the both of them.

They had of course talked a bit, at the cafe that day and some more later as they met up to plan the trip. Turned out Hakyeon’s parents had died in an accident when he was a teenager, his grandmother passing away shortly after, leaving young Hakyeon to take care of himself alone without much, just some personal belongings with the map included, and the tiny apartment she owned. The building was condemned and was to be demolished soon after. Some rich politician was building a mall there. They had paid the owners what their place was worth, which wasn’t much, and sent them packing. 

Hakyeon rented himself a studio and saved what little of the money that was left. He finished school while working two part-time jobs, somehow managing to not go into the foster system even though he was 16. “I look older I guess,” he had said, shrugging. Hongbin didn’t agree. Hakyeon didn’t look older. He looked mature. More mature than some people in their 30s. He’s had a tough life, learning of the world’s cruelties too young, but he didn’t look a day older than 25, which is how old he really was. He was just a year older than Hongbin.

“Hm…” He hummed, eyes defocusing as he started thinking. “One night, after I came home from my second job, and a 6-hour dance practice at the academy before that, I dropped on my bed, so tired I could barely lift a finger. I thought how it wasn’t fair that I had to live this way, fighting to my last breath to get by another day when my great-great-grandfather left his town and his home without fighting like a coward. I thought I would do it better. So I guess, I just want to prove that I could do... differently,” he finished, finally looking up at Hongbin, before shaking his head. “What am I saying… this makes no sense…”

“No it does, don’t worry.” Hongbin gave him his most reassuring smile, he hoped. “And don’t worry, we can always edit things out if you don’t want something to be in the final cut.” The older smiled, clutching at the straps of his backpack tighter.

..

Hongbin unlocked his phone, looking at the text one more time. It was an address sent by Hakyeon. He wanted to see the older to discuss some details about the trip. Sanghyuk was busy, something about the jet’s insurance. Hongbin trusted the younger with the matters of their jet; Sanghyuk considered it his child. 

Hakyeon had said he had practice until 6 but he could meet after and sent Hongbin the address when Hongbin confirmed it was fine and that he’d pick him up. Hongbin’s palms were sweaty around the steering wheel as he parked near the academy’s building. He was nervous for some reason. It might have something to do with the fact that it was the first time he was meeting with Hakyeon alone, without the addition of his younger half (as his parents used to refer to Sanghyuk).

The building was worn out and didn’t look anything like an art academy but to Hongbin it was completely normal. He’d been in and out of these academies and studios for years himself until he called it quits. He couldn’t help but wonder if the same would happen to Hakyeon.

Hongbin had found another passion to follow but couldn’t ignore the impact Sanghyuk had on the matter. If Hongbin was on his own he doubted he would ever have the confidence or courage to start something on his own. Maybe the reason Hakyeon hadn’t quit was that he didn’t have a sidekick. Hongbin went into the building even though he was supposed to meet Hakyeon outside, but he’d gotten there a bit early so he thought he’d go in and look around for a bit.

It was late and the place was almost deserted, except of course there were always people practicing in the studios after hours. Some dancing, some singing, some practicing lines. He asked about the dance studios of the first person he saw. The third floor. Of course, there was no working elevator.

The hallway on the third floor was almost all dark except for the light coming from the small window at the end and light coming from one of the doors. That should be the man Hongbin was looking for. The music was loud enough that Hongbin could hear clearly but it wasn’t obnoxiously loud as some dancers at the academy Hongbin used to go to. He also didn’t recognize the song. It sounded familiar, like those songs you hear at the most random places, something classic but it was rearranged; the instruments were classical but the arrangement was modern. Hongbin had no expertise in music, but it was probably something experimental and specifically made for Hakyeon.

Hongbin walked the hallway until he reached the entrance of the studio, his breath getting caught in his chest as his eyes landed on Hakyeon. He was wearing a thin gray shirt that seemed to be cut from the bottom to be shorter. It floated over the man’s lithe body as he moved as if there was no gravity in that room. A pair of thin coal leggings were hugging Hakyeon’s toned legs, making the definitions of his hard muscles appear sharper. And on his feet, though at first glance it would seem he’s barefoot, were foot thongs. The color didn’t match with Hakyeon’s rich skin tone perfectly. His body moved as if it had no weight, no friction, no strains. He looked free.

Hongbin had watched contemporary dance performances before; during college sometimes they would go see the shows from other majors and even though Hongbin preferred musicals, Wonshik, his roommate who was a dance major, sometimes dragged him to the dance shows. It wasn’t his first time seeing the type of dance but it was. Hongbin had never seen any dancer like Hakyeon. His feet made no sound as he moved; his eyes seemed to be closed, lips slightly parted and the muscles of his face relaxed in a way Hongbin didn’t think was possible unless one was sleeping.

The song faded away. Hongbin was unable to move or make a sound, effectively frozen in his spot until Hakyeon noticed him, his head snapping towards him as he probably saw him standing at the door in the mirror, his eyes sharp and surprised. That seemed to shake Hongbin out of the spell he was under.

“S-sorry, I didn’t mean to…” he stumbled over his words, suddenly thinking maybe he was intruding but then again, the door was open.

“No, it’s alright.” Hakyeon shook his head and smiled softly, running his fingers through his damp bangs sticking to his forehead and combing them up to reveal his long shiny forehead. “Was I late?” He stood up, hurrying to the chair in the corner to check his phone for the time.

“No, I was a bit early and thought I’d come up. Sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude,” Hongbin apologized again. He couldn’t help but feel he witnessed something he wasn’t supposed to. The performance seemed almost… intimate, even though Hakyeon was alone. It seemed out of this world.

“I don’t mind,” Hakyeon replied with a shy smile as he went to gather his stuff, pulling a pair of gray sweatpants over the leggings. “I’ll be performing it next month.” He then pulled the loose shirt off with ease, throwing it into his bag. Hongbin was gaping involuntarily, mouth hanging open at the sudden exposure of golden bronze skin, even though it was over too soon as Hakyeon threw on a hoodie matching the sweatpants and grabbed his phone and bag, ready to leave. Hongbin wondered if Hakyeon would invite him - them - to see his performance. He wondered if he should ask…

Turned out Hakyeon didn’t own any hiking equipment, as Hongbin had predicted, so he drove them straight to the shop where they got all their stuff. He needed a few items himself: Sanghyuk’s water purifier flask was broken and they needed to get some ropes since they didn’t know what they might come across on that island.

They got everything Hakyeon might need. Hongbin paid for everything despite Hakyeon’s insisting he would pay himself.

“Answer me this,” Hongbin turned to Hakyeon. “Are you planning on going hiking or mountain climbing after this?” he asked.

“Well, no but-”

“See, me and Sanghyuk do this for a living basically and sooner or later we’ll need to buy these things again because they break or get lost or whatever Sanghyuk might do to them. So I’m basically saving these for later and you’re borrowing them for this trip.” Hongbin smiled triumphantly as he gave the cashier his card. “And before you ask, of course, we’ll lend you anything you want  _ if _ you decide to go hiking at any point in the future.”

“You’re so generous…” Hakyeon said, placing his hand on his heart jokingly.

“Of course, we’re friends. We’re gonna become even closer after the trip.” Hongbin grinned, showing off his dimples. “If we don’t die of course.”

They had dinner later, Hakyeon insisting to pay this time.

“I’m only allowing this because Sanghyuk isn’t here.”

“No, you’re allowing this because I’m your hyung and you don’t want to be rude. But what do you mean?”

“I mean the check would cost more than the hiking equipment if Sanghyuk was with us,” Hongbin said with a straight face because it was not a joke, but Hakyeon started laughing in earnest, head thrown back and holding his belly as his laugh echoed through the small local restaurant.

His laugh died down slowly after a minute, Hongbin still watching him with a faint smile that was a reaction to Hakyeon’s endearing laugh.

Hakyeon’s eyes went wide as he took Hongbin’s expression.

“Wait, you’re not kidding?”

“Nope.”

They ordered samgyeopsal with almost every side dish the place had with soju. Hongbin loved the smell and the sizzling sound of pork being grilled on the plate right in front of him. It always made him more hungry than the foods that were served when they were cooked at your table.

Hakyeon’s fingers looked long and elegant holding the steel chopsticks and flipping the pork. His nails were short and well kept; they almost looked professionally manicured. Hongbin was almost too distracted by watching Hakyeon’s hand as the older was talking about his day at the academy and only coming back to himself when Hakyeon held a wrap in front of him. His cheeks and ears heated up as he opened his mouth and took the wrap, then hiding his face behind his hand as he chewed the big wrap Hakyeon had prepared for him. It even had his favorite side dishes in it.

“You’re adorable when you eat. You guys should do mukbangs,” Hakyeon suggested, resting his chin on his palm with his elbow on the table as he watched Hongbin eat.

“Sanghyuk has been begging me to do it for ages actually,” Hongbin admitted after he eventually swallowed his bite.

“Well then, what’s stopping you?” Hakyeon asked, looking up at Hongbin momentarily as he prepared a wrap for himself.

“I’m… I can’t eat in front of that many people…” Hongbin muttered, busying himself with opening a bottle of soju and pouring a glass for Hakyeon and then himself.

“Are you… embarrassed?” Hakyeon asked in disbelief. “Oh my god, don’t tell me you’re shy.”

“I don’t know… It’s just weird. Why would anyone want to watch me chew…?” He grumbled like a child before chugging his glass empty but the truth was that he was too shy to eat in front of people. 

Hakyeon poured another glass for him. “It’s okay Binnie, it’s just you and me now so eat comfortably,” Hakyeon said softly with no hint of mockery in his tone.

Hongbin drank half his newly filled glass before thinking about Hakyeon giving him a nickname. His chest and his cheeks started to feel warmer and Hongbin blamed it all on the alcohol.

..

“Guys, I think we should camp here for the night,” Sanghyuk called from a few steps ahead. They’ve been walking for at least 6 hours, taking a break here and there.

“This is my least favorite part…” Hongbin groaned, looking into his camera.

“The germaphobe jumped out,” Sanghyuk shouted towards Hongbin, loud enough for the mic to catch it.

“Not wanting a bunch of insects to walk on me, bite me, or worse, lay their eggs inside my ears is not being a germaphobe, it’s having common sense,” Hongbin said calmly as he pulled out his bug repellent device and turned it on.

“I don’t think that’s very likely, is it?” Hakyeon asked, obviously creeped out at Hongbin’s statement about bugs laying eggs.

“It is. You can google it.”

“He’s just being dramatic Hakyeon hyung, don’t worry,” Sanghyuk assured him, not very successfully apparently.

“I’m… sleeping with Hongbin,” Hakyeon announced, hugging himself and looking around suspiciously.

“We’re all sleeping together,” Sanghyuk winked as he unzipped the instant tent’s bag and started setting it up with ease.

“Don’t worry, the repellent covers 15 feet and it has not let me down yet,” Hongbin said, repressing the urge to wrap Hakyeon in a blanket and protect him.

The tent was set up in just a minute; they moved their stuff inside and got ready for dinner. This was Hongbin’s favorite part of camping. The tent was all set up, making fire, maybe grilling something and then eating together around the fire. They weren’t making fire - they had a camp stove - and they weren’t grilling anything, they were heating canned food. It still felt pretty nice to sit around a fire (it was a wood-burning type of thing so it was technically still fire) and shared food.

And of course, there was the usual banter between him and Sanghyuk and the cameras which they had set up on stands.

“I just now realized…” Hakyeon said with a grin before taking a spoonful of his chili.

“What?” Hongbin asked from his left.

“That you guys are exactly the way you are in your videos.”

“What do you mean?” Sanghyuk asked before Hongbin had the chance to.

“I mean… you guys have amazing chemistry in your videos. Longtime best friends doing what they love together and being extremely funny and entertaining while doing it. I used to think it can’t all be real but… yeah...”

“Hey! You can’t fake the pure comedy we are!” Sanghyuk laughed. Hongbin threw a piece of bread towards Sanghyuk for that.

“What can I say, he’s  _ that _ annoying.” Hongbin shrugged, ignoring Sanghyuk making a face at him.

“I’m camping with children…” Hakyeon sighed from between them, deciding to ignore their antics and finish his surprisingly tasty dinner. 

..

Hongbin woke up before the others, as usual. He was a light sleeper and particularly more sensitive to the environment. The birds chirping early in the morning and the humidity of the air woke him up. It felt too stuffy inside the sleeping bag since it wasn’t exactly cold at that time of the year so he unzipped his bag and crawled out, unzipping the tent's entrance next and getting out as quietly as possible for Hakyeon’s sake. Hongbin felt him toss and turn all night, probably not used to all of this.

He started the fire again and started boiling some water for instant coffee. By the time water started boiling, he heard shuffling from inside the tent and then Hakyeon basically crawled out. There was nothing aesthetic about it but the way his silky black hair was going in every direction and his puffy eyes and dry lips were so endearing, Hongbin couldn’t help laughing.

“I never wanna do this again,” Hakyeon grunted, voice hoarse and dry.

“It gets better as you do it more but I totally get it.” Hongbin thought of his own first time. He didn’t sleep the whole night. He grabbed a tea bag and a cup, filling the cup with hot water and dropping the teabag in before handing it to Hakyeon. He knew the older preferred tea over coffee.

They drank their hot beverages in silence, enjoying the sound of nature and the clean air and the soft light of the morning, but they couldn’t continue their trip without properly sustaining themselves and Hongbin had the perfect thing.

Hakyeon grimaced as Hongbin threw him a breakfast granola bar. Sure, they weren’t for everyone, but this was a camp and they had to pack sufficiently, so protein bars were essential.

“They’re not that bad, trust me. I’ve handpicked them out of hundreds of different brands in the market.” That meant he once bought all the types of bars the grocery store had and tried them all and this one was the least awful.

“I know, I know… I’m just being fussy.” Hakyeon shook his head before grabbing the bar and tearing the package.

“Anyway, Hakyeon hyung, uhm…” He paused, weighing his words. “I guess I just want to say thank you.”

Hakyeon looked up with wide eyes.

“What for?”

“For… sharing your story with us and giving us this opportunity to go on this journey. It’s a huge honor,” Hongbin confesses sincerely. He might have bitched a lot since the morning but in the end, he didn’t regret a second of it and he definitely didn’t regret meeting Hakyeon.

“I… don’t know what to say,” Hakyeon said with a lump in his throat that he was trying so hard to swallow.

“You don’t have to say anything, hyung, I just wanted you to know. And that if we end up not finding anything it still doesn’t change the fact that this was a great journey.” It was the truth. The end result was never what determined the success of a journey to them and he needed Hakyeon to know that because Hongbin was not very optimistic about finding that city. If it was buried the way Hakyeon described it, to take it out they would need a whole crew and excavators. All they had now was a metal detector (Magneto, as Sanghyuk had named it) and a travel-size shovel.

“Thanks Binnie, I’ll… keep that in mind.”

It wasn’t until two hours later, around 8, that they were packed up and on their way. Sanghyuk woke up about half an hour later than the other two and packing always takes longer than unpacking. The good news was that according to the map they had already come more than halfway so they should get to the place where it’s marked on the map by noon.

..

“How come we didn’t see any big animals… All I’ve seen is birds, monkeys and squirrels?” It was Sanghyuk and his random questions again.

“Why? Do you  _ want _ to get chased by a bear or a jaguar or something? Is this too boring for you?” Hongbin said sarcastically, rolling his eyes at the camera. This was going to be a nice meme.

“No, more like a deer or something so I can eat it. I’m a big boy and I need big boy foods.”

Hakyeon gasped, holding his palms against his chest. “You’d eat Bambi?”

“Of course! You wouldn’t?”

“Do I have a heart in my chest? Do I have a-”

“Guys,” Hongbin called from a few steps ahead, standing frozen on his spot.

“What the…” Sanghyuk murmured.

“Is this…?” Hakyeon asked, voice shaking.

“I think it is. I think we’re here,” Hongbin declared, looking at the map and then at the satellite map showing their location. In front of them was a green field as far as they could see. Miles and miles of an open field, covered in tall grass and different kinds of flowers and bushes. But no trees.

“This doesn’t make any sense…” Hakyeon whispered, to himself probably.

“Doesn’t it? If they buried a city here then there was a huge empty spot. No plants, no trees.” Sanghyuk shrugged.

“But… it’s been more than two centuries. Don’t you think some trees should’ve grown here by now?” Hongbin pointed out. It seemed as if there was something in these parts, preventing trees to root there.

“Hongbin has a point,” Hakyeon agreed.

“We should split up. You two should look around the field to see if you see anything strange and I’ll go in with Magneto,” Sanghyuk instructed. The metal detector was heavy and Hongbin was thankful that Sanghyuk was doing the heavy work voluntarily.

Hongbin and Hakyeon started going around the field. It seemed that the shape of it wasn’t random. It looked like it was a perfect rectangle. They could clearly see the lines where the forest ended and the field began. It was a perfectly straight line. 

They hadn’t made it that far when Hongbin tripped on something.

“Fuck,” he cursed as he tried to sit up. His toes didn’t feel broken but it felt like he had kicked a brick. Or something even harder.

“Bin, look!” Hakyeon pointed. It was whatever Hongbin had tripped on.

It looked… metal.

“Sanghyuk!” Hongbin shouted; the digging equipment was with Sanghyuk.

The younger came running.

“What? Did you fin… _ oh _ .” He sat down carefully, pulling out a small shovel and digging around the metal object. Hongbin grabbed a cloth and started cleaning the surface as more of it started to show.

“It’s…”

“Gold.”

They all stared at each other for what felt like hours but was probably a minute, trying to process what had just happened.

Sanghyuk pulled a folded knife out of one of his pockets and threw it into Hakyeon’s lap.

“Come on, dig!”

From what they could see, it looked like a cube, bright gold, shining under the afternoon light. There were patterns, other than the scratches and marks left by being in nature for probably centuries. Hongbin ran his fingers on the surface, feeling the dips and bumps of the patterns on his skin, still trying to process it. There was a pattern in the middle of the top square, separated by the rest with a deeper circle behind it. It looked familiar somehow.

“Hakyeon, give me your medallion! Now!” It suddenly hit him, where he’d seen that pattern.

“What?” Hakyeon stopped his task and looked up at Hongbin in confusion.

“ _ Look! _ ” Hongbin pointed at the circle in the middle with the same pattern as Hakyeon’s medallion. Only the dips and bumps were the opposite.

Hakyeon unbuttoned a few buttons of his shirt and pulled the thin chain off around his neck and wordlessly placed the round object on the spot, turning it until it fitted inside perfectly. None of them were breathing, silently waiting for something to happen but it didn’t.

Hakyeon sighed. “This isn’t  _ National Treasure _ . Of course, it doesn’t work-” 

Before he got to finish the sentence Sanghyuk put his palm on the medallion and pushed down with all his weight. A clicking sound came from inside the cube and a few seconds later, while all three boys were still in shock, the ground started to shake. It looked like the field was about to fall apart somehow.

Natural reflexes made them all stand up and run away from the field's edges but not too far. Sanghyuk stopped them by grabbing their shirts, almost causing them all to trip. They all turned around to see something unbelievable. What was the surface of the field looked like it was tearing open and instead of falling down, it was going up. Thick planes of wood in big squares that were locked together like pieces of a puzzle were now being pulled up without the grass and the soil moving on top of them. It made sense why no tree had grown there. The soil depth wasn’t enough to sustain a tree. 

Eventually, the boards stopped moving, standing halfway up so about half the width of the field was now open. The boys walked closer carefully. At some point, Hongbin realized they’re all holding hands but he couldn’t be bothered to think about it. They stopped a couple of steps away from the open edge. It was more than enough to see everything.

Hognbin found himself and the other two sitting where they were standing a while ago; he didn’t know how much time had passed. He blinked the fogginess away, shaking his head, then remembered. The golden city.

They found the golden city.

Sanghyuk and Hakyeon seemed to be in the same condition, confused, shocked and more confused. And more shocked.

“What the fuck now?” Sanghyuk asked hoarsely.

“I… don’t know.” Hongbin shook his head frantically. He had no idea what to do. He never expected to find this. Hell, he didn’t think they would find anything. He thought at best they’ll detect metal a few meters under the soil and call it a day. This was beyond anything any of them could have predicted.

Sanghyuk stood up on shaky legs, taking another step closer.

“This is-” He cleared his throat. “This is more than the amount of extracted gold estimated to exist in all the countries combined.”

Hongbin had read somewhere that all the gold currently in the word can fit in about three Olympic pools. This was… way beyond that. And they couldn’t see where it ended.

The city seemed to be built about 20 meters lower than the surface, and it definitely didn’t look blown up. Abandoned and unkept for centuries? Yes. But blown up? No. The real story of hiding it had gotten lost somewhere in transferring the story orally throughout time. Maybe it was more dramatic to say they had blown it up.

Hakyeon finally got up and went to stand beside Sanghyuk. Hongbin gathered himself up and joined them. 

Hongbin could see the buildings, made with a combination of wood and gold. The surface of the gold on the buildings and pretty much everything else seemed oddly matte, Hongbin noticed, and that it didn’t reflect the sun like a normal metal would, as if they had matted the surfaces to prevent excessive reflection of the light. 

A bit farther there was what looked like a town square, shops circling around the area and carriages abandoned in the middle. The architecture of buildings and the structure of the roads were ahead of their time.

“Did you get all that?” Hongbin asked Sanghyuk dazedly. Sanghyuk was the only one carrying a camera, the one on his head, that day. Hongbin was too tired to hold a stick for hours.

“We can’t-” Hakyeon paused, taking a deep breath. “We can’t show this to the world.”

“Hakyeon’s right,” Sanghyuk agreed.

“We- the world isn’t ready. This is beyond anything that has ever been discovered to this day,” Hakyeon said in a shaky voice.

“It can cause World War III,” Sanghyuk added.

Hongbin couldn’t help the gasp that left his mouth. Even the thought of it made the hairs on the back of his head stand, but they were right.

“People have started wars for far less. People have killed for far less. I can’t bear this responsibility. If one man dies because of this it would be on me.”

Sanghyuk pulled the camera out of the strap and removed the memory card. Hongbin did the same with his camera that was in the back. No record can exist of this trip. They both handed Hakyeon the memory cards; he broke them in half and then threw them into the hole that was the city.

“The map,” Hakyeon held his hand in front of Hongbin.

“But… then it’ll be lost forever...?”

“That’s exactly the point, Bin. Do you honestly think humanity will ever evolve beyond money and politics and war?” Hongbin shook his head. If anything, humanity was getting worse and worse every day. He pulled the scroll map out of his backpack and handed it to Hakyeon who threw it after the memory cards. Next, he walked towards the cube where they had inserted the medallion.

“Stay back!” he shouted. Hongbin and Sanghyuk walked back to a safe distance and Hakyeon pulled the medallion out. The ground started shaking again, the boards starting to go back down and into their place.

Hakyeon started walking back to them but halfway he turned around, staring at the medallion for a few moments and just before the wooden boards fully closed he threw the medallion inside the hole. No one could find the city but them and if anyone ever did, they’d have to blow it open, which would probably cause the whole thing to fall apart and get buried under tons and tons of soil.

The field went back to normal, almost as if nothing had happened. Only on the edges there were lines visible which nature would take care of covering soon. 

The city of gold was lost forever, for better or for worse.

..

Epilogue

_ 1 year later _

“Can you stop being you for a second? Or pause at least!”

Sanghyuk looked up to Hongbin with hurt in his eyes, sitting between the older’s legs on the floor with his back to the couch.

“Don’t look at me like that, you know what I mean! Hakyeon has an important live stream.”

The younger lowered his head in shame, hugging the popcorn bowl tighter to his chest. The movie was paused and almost forgotten between them.

“That’s right. We don’t want a repeat of the other time.” 

They were not to speak of that incident but it was safe to say Sanghyuk had ‘accidentally’ crashed Hakyeon’s stream and not in a ‘haha, oops sorry’ sort of way.

“I know…” the younger whispered under his breath, voice barely audible. Hongbin was starting to feel bad; maybe he was being too harsh.

“Hey, look at me.” Hongbin leaned forwards, cupping the younger's cheeks from behind him, making him look up and he leaned down himself.

As soon as Sanghyuk looked up, Hongbin grabbed him tighter to hold him there as he lowered his face down and planted a chaste kiss on the younger’s lips.

“I’m sorry.” He pulled back just enough to whisper against Sanghyuk’s lips. “That was too mean.”

Sanghyuk’s grin stretched from ear to ear, his expression doing a 180 in 0.2 seconds. Big hands went behind Hongbin’s head, fingers locking into his hair and using the leverage to pull Hongbin down for a deeper kiss. To hell that they were basically kissing upside down.

_ It had happened. Not overnight, and surely not without complications and misunderstandings, but it had happened. Hongbin wanted to give himself all the credit for it but that wouldn’t be true. It was a week after coming back from the trip. The trip they all agreed never to speak of again. The two of them were drinking at a local restaurant owned by some ahjumma. They didn’t even know how they got there, it wasn’t anywhere near their house. Even though they’d agreed to not talk about the trip, it was almost always on their minds. Hongbin knew Sanghyuk enough to know that it wasn’t just him who was having dreams about a damp green forest and a city where everything was built with gold. Sometimes he would dream about falling down the edge of the deep hole, sometimes dreamt of the island eating itself up and them with it, and many other scenarios Hongbin would rather not remember. _

_ So they drank. They drank to forget. Hongbin remembered that night; he didn’t feel all that drunk. He could still count to 100 without needing to use his fingers and the room wasn’t spinning, at least not until his eyes fell onto Sanghyuk’s lips, moist and red from just drinking his 5th bottle. _

_ “I think I wanna kiss you right now,” Hongbin had ended up blurting. He felt like he should feel embarrassed, but he didn’t. _

_ “Oh yeah?” Sanhyuk had looked up, not particularly surprised, or offended. Which was a good sign. Yeah, definitely a good sign. He almost looked at Hongbin, almost daring. _

_ “Yeah... I definitely wanna kiss you,” Hongbin had confirmed, after giving it about 2 more seconds of thought. _

_ “Then do it.” _

_ “No, you do it.” Hongbin wasn’t chickening out. He wasn’t. If you ask this 500 more times in the next 50 years the answer would still be the same. _

_ “Why should I?” The younger had tilted his head. He was up for playing a game. _

_ “Why not? Are you afraid?” That was the magic word, because the next thing Hongbin knew, the younger had stood up from the plastic stool and was leaning forwards and putting his cold lips over Hongbin’s numb ones.  _

_ They didn’t go home and have epic sex. In fact, they didn’t have sex at all. They definitely planned to, but they ended up falling asleep tangled with each other while making out with all their clothes on, which in retrospect was a good thing. Not that Hongbin had some kind of fantasy about their ‘first time’, but it was more in the way that it was better that they hadn’t gone too far before having a sober conversation about everything _ .

Sanghyuk bit his bottom lip not so lightly, making Hongbin gasp which resulted in him opening his mouth and giving the younger full access. He licked into Hongbin’s mouth shamelessly; he tasted like buttery popcorn and Hongbin didn’t even mind the awkward angle. The kiss was hot, wet, and messy, and Hognbin’s hands found their way down over Sanghyuk’s exposed throat, his fingers tracing the younger’s prominent Adam's apple.

“What are you guys watching?” said Hakyeon from beside the couch, and there was something playful in his voice.

They both jumped at the sudden appearance of Hakyeon. He had really light feet…

“Hey,” Hongbin spoke, voice hoarse and shaky.

“Hey yourself.” Hakyeon smiled sweetly as he walked the few steps to where the other two were and planted his feet effortlessly around Hongbin’s hips and straddled his thighs.

“I thought you were practicing...?” Sanghyuk asked from the floor, his head turned as much as possible to the side.

“I was. But I still have a couple of hours until the stream and I thought I’d spend it relaxing with my boyfriends.” He shrugged nonchalantly, ruffling Sanghyuk’s hair. 

_ Yeah, that had also happened. Hongbin had still trouble believing that it actually did and how. But it had and it was working out way better than any of them had hoped for, even Hakyeon. _

_ It was Sanghyuk’s idea to ask Hakyeon to move in with them. Sanghyuk and him had been dating for about two months and of course, they had kept in touch with Hakyeon. At first, it felt like Hakyeon was unsure but eventually he came around. They introduced him to some of their other friends. Him and Taekwoon had become really good friends against all odds. Jaehwan still joked that Hakyeon has something on Taek.  _

_ Hakyeon was struggling. One of the places he worked at closed their business and Hakyeon couldn’t find another job soon enough and was losing his apartment. The only reason Hongbin didn’t suggest it himself was that deep feeling in his gut that made him question his every thought and intentions with Hakyeon since he had started dating Sanghyuk. If he did, he wouldn’t be able to shake the feeling that he might have done it for selfish reasons because yes, he still liked Hakyeon. Hongbin knew he could love more than one person and that it wasn’t a bad thing but his relationship with Sanghyuk was too fresh and he wasn’t ready to share that. _

_ But then Sanghyuk brought it up and Hakyeon really needed a place to stay and Hongbin had no reason to object. Hakyeon didn’t accept it easily though. They had assured him that their place was too big and they already had two unused bedrooms and that he wouldn’t be a bother. They even surprised him with renovating the basement to turn it into a dance studio for him (they lied and told him they just installed the mirrors but Heakyeon didn’t believe them) and of course, he had cried. _

_ Next, they helped him start his own YouTube channel for his dancing, another one of Sanghyuk’s brilliant ideas. They already had everything he would need and Hongbin knew that it would work because he had seen Hakyeon dance. (In fact, they both had. Hakyeon did end up inviting them to the performance.) With just a little help from their channel and Taekwoon’s, who was more than happy to promote Hakyeon, his channel grew in a matter of months. _

_ But their relationship didn’t actually start until a couple of months back. Hongbin had just started to get used to this acting like he’s not this close to being in love with Hakyeon and living with him and his boyfriend and best friend whom he loved to the moon and back like it wasn’t a big deal when Sanghyuk had an outburst.  _

_ “Bin… there’s something I need to tell you but, I don’t know how to say it,” Sanghyuk had said one night when they were in bed, past 4 am. He had been acting a little weird for a while; he was too quiet and a bit jittery. Hongbin would be lying if he said that his heart didn’t skip a beat at Sanghyuk’s words, his mind going through all sorts of scenarios. _

_ “What is it? Is everything okay? You haven’t been yourself lately,” Hognbin had said as calmly as he could, laying his palm on the younger’s cheek as they lied face to face on their sides. _

_ “I’m… I’m afraid you’re gonna hate me,” his voice trembled. He was sniffing up and curling in on himself. _

_ “What- I could never hate you, Hyogie… just tell me, we’ll figure it out together okay?” _

_ And then the younger had spilled his guts about how he’s had a crush on Hakyeon from day one and his feelings grew more as time went on and that they didn’t go away when they started dating but that he still loved Hongbin with all his heart as tears started streaming down his face.  _

_ Hongbin gathered his giant baby of a boyfriend in his arms and assured him that it was okay and that he didn’t hate him. Then he told him that he felt the same when the younger had calmed down a bit. At the end of the day, they were both idiots and didn’t know what to do and now they were just suffering together. Hakyeon was blooming right before their eyes and they couldn’t be happier but if only they could have what they truly wanted… _

_ They turned to Jaehwan, which seemed like the worst thing at the time but ended up working out perfectly. _

_ “Are you guys blind? I thought I was the blind one here?” Jaehwan said as he pushed his thick glasses up his pointy nose. _

_ “What do you mean, oh-sharp-eyes Jaehwan?” Hongbin rolled his eyes as he waited for the older to elaborate. _

_ “He likes you guys as much as you do!” _

_ “Huh?” Hongbin and Sanghyuk said at the same time. _

_ “Have you guys not seen the way he looks at you when… well, I guess you couldn’t have seen because you were busy eating each other’s faces.” _

_ “What? We don’t even do that much PDA!” Hongbin says even though he knows it’s not true so he doesn’t look at Sanghyuk who’s giving his side-eye, basically calling on his bullshit. _

_ “Tell yourself whatever you want but he wants whatever this is,” Jaehwan gestured to them, circling his hands in the air in the general direction of the couple. _

_ “I feel like I should be offended…” Sanghyuk said, debating his final feeling about it. _

_ “So, are you guys gonna do something or what?” _

_ Again, Hongbin would love to say they were sleek and confident about coming out to Hakyeon about their feelings and that they swept him off his feet but it wouldn’t be true. They were a mess and they forgot everything they were going to say and ended up being frustrated and thinking they blew their chance but Hakyeon had hugged them and told them it was okay and that he wanted to try. _

_ So they did. _

“Won’t you join us up here, Hyogie?”

Of course, Sanghyuk wouldn’t refuse the chance to cuddle with his boyfriends. They ended up in a mess of tangled limbs and blankets on the couch, the popcorn forgotten on the coffee table and the movie playing in the background but they were in their own world, warm, happy and content.

Hongbin would never in a million years say it out loud, but in moments like these, he knew that no amount of money or gold and no treasure in the whole world would compare to this. He had found his treasures, one of them a long time ago and one more recently, and he knew that he would never trade them for all the treasures in the world. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Firstly, I'd like to thank Hannah and Rachel for putting their half braincells together with me to come up with some of the usernames and other stuff, and Rachel of course for Beta'ing as always.  
> This was super fun to write for me, even though it's I think the longest of the series (So far🤡). Also it's all in Hongbin's POV which was also new and a little bit challenging for me but in a good way.  
> ps: if the relationship aspect feels a little rushed, it's because it kinda is. I had planned for this part to a oneshot smut with Hakyeon being Chel but as I got into it I felt like I want a more 'Original' story and that whole thing just happened and I ended up not getting to develop their relationships as much as I wanted to so I kind of squeezed some in after finishing the main story.  
> anyway!!! I hope this was fun to read. please don't forget to leave kudos if you liked this fic and also please let me know what you think in the comment!!! I read every comment multiple times and smile like a fool for ages UWU


End file.
